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Background

Project Surnames:

Geer	Greer	Grier	Grierson

Project Background:

In the middle to late 1600's Scots-Irish families named Greer and Grier began immigrating to the Colonies through the ports of Pennsylvania, Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina and Georgia from Northern Ireland and Scotland.

As new land was opened, Greers/Griers began moving south and west into Georgia, Alabama, Arkansas and Texas. Some migrated further north and west from Pennsylvania and into the midwest.

Greer and Grier are long known to have been septs of the Scottish name McGregor. Beginning in 1603 the McGregors were proscribed by the King and forced to change their names or face certain death. Many changed from McGregor to Grierson, to Greg, Greig, Greer and Grier, etc., thus there are two spellings for the same name.

The Greer or Grier surname has not been proven through DNA to be in a direct line to the clan of the present Chief, the McGregors of Glencarnoch or Glengyle, even though there is much evidence of close relationships. There is, however, a connection to other McGregor lines.

In this project we are looking at the Greer/Grier surname as a name unto itself. Since leaving Scotland and Northern Ireland, Griers and Greers have risen to positions of worldwide importance including the military, the courts and business. The Greer/Grier lines deserve individual examination.

Our Greer and Grier ancestors fought with General George Washington in the French and Indian War and in the Revolutionary War, the War of 1812 and the War Between the States. In more modern times, WWI and WWII, Viet Nam, Desert Storm and Iraq.

Our ancestors played a great role in settling and defending this great country of ours.

Connection with the McGregor line will continue to be an ongoing project. After joining the Greer/Grier Project, you may also join the McGregor Project at no additional charge and belong to both projects simultaneously.

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Project Goals:

Our goal is to connect various Greer and Grier families through DNA, to further solidify and prove our previous findings.

By establishing a separate project for our surname, we can focus more closely on the Greer/Grier families and begin connecting the dots that have evaded us for so long.

We can follow our ancestors before there were surnames as they traveled through Europe prior to arriving in Scotland and Northern Ireland. Your personal DNA will determine which Haplogroup represents your ancient ancestors. There is so much more to learn and share with your family.

For decades researchers of this line have scoured the libraries, courthouses and archives searching for links and connections. Some were fortunate. Some were not. Paper records prior to 1790 in America are scarce and sometimes incomplete.

The 21st Century brings us the science of DNA testing of the Y-Chromosome. We are now a simple "mouth swab" away from finding connections between Grier and Greer families, who have been in America for over three hundred years, with their relations in the United Kingdom, including Scotland and Australia. This form of Genealogy is known as AnthroGenealogy.

Only male descendants can participate in the actual DNA testing because only they carry the Y-Chromosome. Females, however, can be proactive in the project. We all have fathers, brothers, uncles, nephews and cousins who we can solicit to participate.

You can help the project grow by posting notices in your library, at your genealogy meeting, on message boards and mailing lists that the GREER / GRIER DNA Project is open for business, answering requests for information, and sending out test kits.

Join NOW! Become a Charter Member of the GREER/GRIER DNA Project. Request your Kit today. If you have questions, send an email to your group administrator at GypsyGG@aol.com.

Your kit will be sent to you the next business day and about eight to ten weeks later your results will be posted on this site. Your results will be listed only by your Kit Number and the name of your earliest ancestor.

If you wish to be connected via email to other males who share your DNA, we can help you make the connection.

Project News:

Look at the newest Group Six - One of our most recent participants, #68070, who tested 67 markers, descends from Nathaniel Hunt Greer. He matched with three Greer participants from the FTDNA MacGregor Project. Two of those participants have now joined our group.

There is also a match with other members of the Sorenson Project who claim descendancy to John Greer and Sarah Hunt, the same ancestors he traces to.

#35624 tells of his ancestor, Samuel Greer b. abt 1758, who arrived with his parents in Derry Township, Pennsylvania in the late 1760's then settled in Kentucky.

Kit #10589 claims Thomas Greer and Jane Dunlap of Pennsylvania. His family tradition tells of a possible connection to Henry Grier and Mary Turner who migrated from the Scotland/England border to County Tyrone, Northern Ireland around 1653.

Thanks to DNA research, we no longer must depend on family tradition. Sooner or later, with more participants who have varied documentation, we will know with certainty who our ancestors were and where they came from

One thing is known for certain, that they share a common Grier/Greer ancestor.

Note in Group One on our chart that three men listed as earliest known ancestor, were all born 1813 in three different states, i.e. Kentucky, Virginia and Georgia. The fourth man, William Greer, b. 1710 in Baltimore, Md. has strong possibilities of being their direct ancestor.

We would, however, need a full 37 marker test on all four of them to determine this. A twelve marker test only indicates that all four of them shared a common ancestor somewhere in time.

If William was born in 1710, then when did his father arrive in North America? Who was his father? Are these men direct descendants of William or of his brothers? All questions we can answer by combining DNA with genealogy.

Project Results:

In our Results Chart, Kit # 8339 descends from Alexander

Greer b. 1780 North Carolina and possibly from James Grier b. 1708 Co. Antrim Northern Ireland.

Kit Numbers 7874 & 94757 descend from John Grier, born 1774 Parton, Kirkudbrightshire, Scotland. This Grier migrated to Australia early on and the family lives in Australia.

Number 27441 has noted his earliest known ancestor as John Greer, Jr. 1813-1895, Meade Co., Kentucky.

Number N5699 lists Joseph Grattan, b 1839 Loughbrickland, County Down, Northern Ireland.
His maternal ancestor was Thomas Gilliland, born circa 1820, County Antrim, Northern Ireland.

Number 39863 descends from Spartanburg, South Carolina Greers, circa 1720-1788.

We have thirty members with results posted and several new test kits in the chute. So far, we have ten separate groups of Greer/Grier families.

DNA Test Results (mtDNA) for Project Members